I promised this weeks ago. Apologies for my lateness, but I had zipper issues. Can I just begin by saying that while this was a quick knit and a fairly simple jacket to finish, I had hell buying the zipper. It’s not that I couldn’t find it either. The first time I rifled through the zipper rack at Hobby Lobby found what I needed- a 24 inch dogwood zipper (I guess that’s taupe though I would have guessed dogwood to be pink).  Anywho, I got home, dug through my cabinets for matching thread and a sewing needle, got settled on the couch ready to sew in my zipper and would you believe it, the zipper was non-separating. So I scratched that, and started something else. So I make it back to the store within the next week to buy another zipper. No, I didn’t return the other one. I hate returning things and most of the time stick said unwanted item in a drawer for later, (thus the hunt for thread), or I’ll give it to someone. Can you say Laaazzzyyy? Yeah, I know. So I dig through Walmart’s limited selection of zippers, see that they don’t have the right length, and settle for a longer one than I need since you can always shorten a zipper. So again, I got home, got my already handy needle and thread, got settled in my knitting spot and, Hells bells if I didn’t do the same exact thing except in a longer length. By now it has become clear to me that buying the right kind of zipper in the correct length and color is just too much of a task for me. I’m telling you I’ve lost my mind. So the next day when my DH called from his office to see if I needed anything from town, I sweetly explained what I wanted him to find for me. I did this of course under the full understanding that the store would probably be out of the exact one I wanted, and being the sweet guy he is he would try to substitute something else for it, which would of course leave me with three zippers that I do not need, and without one that I do. The sad part of the story is that my hubby got it exactly right on the first try and he has no crafting knowledge whatsoever.

It is the Zippered Jacket from Vogue Knitting Fall/Winter 04/05. It called for very expensive cashmere and I opted for Decadence 100% alpaca from knitpicks. We all know how I luuurve the alpaca. The color was tan which I’m loving on. I’m into neutrals lately. I found the decadence to be closer to a worsted than a bulky and am sure it would have knit up beautifully at 4.5 sts per inch, but I knit it on US 10’s as per the pattern and the yarn label and the looser gauge works well too. Knitpicks options needles knit like a dream. I love the tiny cable twist details and the stand up ribbed collar.

You can really see the cable twists on the back in the sunshine. It also show the neat little center rib running doen the back. This is going to be my favorite, toss in the car, wear everywhere sweater I think. And did I mention how soft it is? It’s already starting to warm up down here, so I’m tempted to crank the AC just so I can cuddle with this thing.

Close-knit friends in the blogosphere…

evidently it is Girlfriend and Sister’s Week so for all of my online clickety sista’s, my knitting group (that needs a name), and anyone else I know. Happy girlfriend and sister week!

I am only as strong as the coffee I drink, the hairspray I use and the friends I have. To the cool women that have touched my life. Here’s to you!

“It is easy to say how we love new friends, and what we think of them, but words can never trace out all the fibers that knit us to the old.” George Eliot

And also the winner of my last comment contest is batty. Congrats, girl. Go take a peek over at my etsy and tell me what you’d like.